<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
is	O
a	O
free	B-License
and	I-License
open-source	I-License
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
emulator	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
and	O
macOS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
that	O
supports	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
video	O
games	O
with	O
a	O
high	O
level	O
of	O
compatibility	O
and	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
PCSX2	B-Application
can	O
closely	O
mirror	O
the	O
original	O
gameplay	O
experience	O
on	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
PCSX2	B-Application
supports	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
improvements	O
over	O
gameplay	O
on	O
a	O
traditional	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
use	O
custom	O
resolutions	B-General_Concept
up	O
to	O
8192×8192	O
,	O
anti-aliasing	B-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
texture	O
filtering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
,	O
like	O
its	O
predecessor	O
project	O
PCSX	B-Language
(	O
a	O
PlayStation	B-Device
emulator	O
)	O
,	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
a	O
PSEmu	O
Pro	O
spec	O
plug-in	B-Application
architecture	O
,	O
separating	O
several	O
functions	O
from	O
the	O
core	O
emulator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
the	O
graphics	O
,	O
audio	O
,	O
input	O
controls	O
,	O
CD/DVD	O
drive	O
,	O
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
and	O
FireWire	B-Protocol
(	O
i.LINK	B-Protocol
)	O
ports	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Different	O
plug-ins	B-Application
may	O
produce	O
different	O
results	O
in	O
both	O
compatibility	O
and	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Additionally	O
,	O
PCSX2	B-Application
requires	O
a	O
genuine	O
copy	O
of	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
BIOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
is	O
not	O
available	O
for	O
download	O
from	O
the	O
developers	O
due	O
to	O
copyright-related	O
legal	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
September	O
2016	O
,	O
PCSX2	B-Application
is	O
partially	O
compatible	O
with	O
PlayStation	B-Device
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
bottleneck	O
in	O
PS2	B-Device
emulation	O
is	O
emulating	O
the	O
Emotion	B-Architecture
Engine	I-Architecture
multi-processor	B-Operating_System
on	O
the	O
PC	O
x86	B-Operating_System
architecture	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Development	O
of	O
PCSX2	B-Application
was	O
started	O
in	O
2001	O
by	O
programmers	O
who	O
go	O
by	O
the	O
names	O
Linuzappz	O
and	O
Shadow	O
,	O
who	O
were	O
programmers	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
emulator	O
PCSX-Reloaded	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
programmers	O
later	O
joined	O
the	O
team	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
were	O
eventually	O
able	O
to	O
get	O
some	O
PS2	B-Device
games	O
to	O
the	O
loading	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
team	O
then	O
started	O
working	O
on	O
the	O
difficult	O
task	O
of	O
emulating	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
's	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
;	O
they	O
got	O
it	O
to	O
run	O
,	O
although	O
it	O
was	O
slow	O
and	O
graphically	O
distorted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
0.9.8	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
May	O
2011	O
and	O
featured	O
an	O
overhauled	O
GUI	O
written	O
with	O
wxWidgets	B-Language
,	O
that	O
improved	O
compatibility	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
newer	O
Windows	B-Application
operating	I-Application
systems	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
addition	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
VU	O
recompiler	O
brought	O
better	O
compatibility	O
,	O
a	O
memory	O
card	O
editor	O
,	O
an	O
overhaul	O
of	O
the	O
SPU2-X	O
audio	O
plug-in	B-Application
,	O
and	O
numerous	O
other	O
improvements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
Apple	O
is	O
deprecating	O
support	O
for	O
OpenGL	B-Application
and	O
OpenGL	B-Application
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
macOS	B-Application
10.14	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
officially	O
stopped	O
developing	O
new	O
versions	O
of	O
PCSX2	B-Application
for	O
macOS	B-Application
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
November	O
2021	O
,	O
97%	O
of	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
games	O
are	O
considered	O
"	O
playable	O
"	O
on	O
the	O
emulator	O
,	O
meaning	O
they	O
can	O
be	O
played	O
largely	O
but	O
not	O
entirely	O
free	O
of	O
slight	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2022	O
,	O
PCSX2	B-Application
added	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
Vulkan	B-Application
API	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
was	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
basis	O
for	O
AetherSX2	O
,	O
a	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
emulator	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
supports	O
save	O
states	O
and	O
dynamic	O
recompilation	O
(	O
JIT	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
also	O
support	O
for	O
gameplay	O
recording	O
in	O
Full	O
HD	O
using	O
the	O
GSdx	O
plugin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
makes	O
use	O
of	O
plug-ins	B-Application
as	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
modularizing	B-Architecture
development	O
efforts	O
among	O
the	O
separate	O
components	O
(	O
subsystems	O
)	O
of	O
the	O
emulated	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
video	O
plug-ins	B-Application
are	O
utilized	O
by	O
PCSX2	B-Application
to	O
render	O
images	O
to	O
the	O
screen	O
and	O
emulate	O
the	O
graphics	O
hardware	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
,	O
whereas	O
sound	O
plug-ins	B-Application
emulate	O
the	O
sound	O
hardware	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Not	O
only	O
does	O
this	O
allow	O
different	O
developers	O
to	O
focus	O
their	O
efforts	O
on	O
one	O
aspect	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
hardware	O
,	O
this	O
also	O
allows	O
users	O
that	O
have	O
a	O
system	O
configuration	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
yield	O
good	O
results	O
with	O
one	O
plug-in	B-Application
to	O
attempt	O
to	O
try	O
another	O
to	O
see	O
if	O
they	O
have	O
better	O
results	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
list	O
of	O
several	O
plug-ins	B-Application
follows	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Name	O
Subsystem	O
Notes	O
GSdx	O
Video	O
The	O
fastest	O
,	O
most	O
accurate	O
graphics	O
plug-in	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Requires	O
Direct3D	B-Application
or	O
OpenGL	B-Application
support	O
and	O
optionally	O
uses	O
a	O
GPU	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
GSdx	O
plug-in	B-Application
is	O
compatible	O
with	O
PSX	O
emulators	O
but	O
is	O
limited	O
to	O
software	O
rendering	O
with	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GSdx	O
FX	O
Video	O
Post-processing	O
shader	O
pack	O
for	O
GSdx	O
plugin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
ZZogl	O
Video	O
A	O
less	O
optimized	O
graphics	O
plug-in	B-Application
that	O
uses	O
Open	B-Application
GL	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compatible	O
with	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
plugin	B-Application
is	O
fork	O
of	O
ZeroGS	O
KOSMOS	O
plugin	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SPU2-X	O
Audio	O
The	O
most	O
accurate	O
sound	O
plug-in	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
SSSPSX	O
Pad	O
Input	O
A	O
simple	O
input	O
plug-in	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
LilyPad	O
Input	O
An	O
advanced	O
input	O
plug-in	B-Application
that	O
supports	O
keyboards	O
,	O
mice	O
,	O
and	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Nuvee	O
Input	O
An	O
input	O
plug-in	B-Application
that	O
supports	O
lightguns	O
and	O
USB	B-Protocol
mice	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TwinPad	O
Input	O
Another	O
keyboard	O
and	O
mouse	O
plug-in	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
XPad	O
Input	O
An	O
Xbox	B-Device
360	I-Device
controller	I-Device
input	O
plug-in	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
CDVD	O
Optical	O
A	O
simple	O
optical	B-Device
media	I-Device
plug-in	B-Application
that	O
runs	O
games	O
from	O
optical	B-Device
discs	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linuz	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
CDVD	O
Optical	O
A	O
plug-in	B-Application
which	O
has	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
compress	O
ISO	B-General_Concept
images	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dev9	O
Hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
Handles	O
PS2	B-Device
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
and	O
Ethernet	O
emulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MegaDev9	O
Hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
A	O
more	O
advanced	O
version	O
of	O
Dev9	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
it	O
only	O
partially	O
emulates	O
the	O
PS2	B-Device
hard	B-Device
drive	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Netplay	O
Netplay	O
A	O
plug-in	B-Application
which	O
allows	O
certain	O
games	O
to	O
be	O
playable	O
multiplayer	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
v1.7.0-dev-1420	O
PCSX2	B-Application
has	O
merged	O
all	O
functionality	O
into	O
the	O
core	O
emulator	O
,	O
eliminating	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
plugins	B-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
releasing	O
64-bit	O
variants	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
list	O
of	O
plugins	B-Application
that	O
have	O
been	O
merged	O
are	O
listed	O
below	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
GSdx	O
plug-in	B-Application
offers	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
image	O
quality	O
improvements	O
over	O
the	O
original	B-Device
PlayStation	I-Device
2	O
hardware	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
demanding	O
nature	O
of	O
emulation	O
,	O
PCSX2	B-Application
is	O
much	O
more	O
likely	O
to	O
perform	O
well	O
with	O
modern	O
mid-range	O
to	O
high-end	O
hardware	O
,	O
with	O
lower-end	O
systems	O
likely	O
to	O
experience	O
less	O
than	O
full	O
performance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
performance	O
bottleneck	O
in	O
most	O
cases	O
is	O
the	O
CPU	B-Device
rather	O
than	O
the	O
GPU	B-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
especially	O
the	O
case	O
in	O
software	O
mode	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
only	O
the	O
CPU	B-Device
is	O
used	O
for	O
emulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
hardware	O
mode	O
,	O
the	O
GPU	B-Architecture
emulates	O
the	O
graphics	O
,	O
but	O
can	O
still	O
be	O
a	O
bottleneck	O
if	O
the	O
internal	O
resolution	B-General_Concept
is	O
set	O
too	O
high	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
games	O
may	O
also	O
run	O
slower	O
due	O
to	O
unoptimized	O
graphics	O
code	O
or	O
weak	O
video	B-Device
cards	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
computer	O
hardware	O
has	O
continued	O
to	O
advance	O
with	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
likelihood	O
of	O
performance	O
issues	O
with	O
PCSX2	B-Application
has	O
experienced	O
a	O
corresponding	O
decrease	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PCSX2	B-Application
has	O
been	O
very	O
well	O
received	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alex	O
Garnett	O
of	O
PC	O
World	O
criticized	O
the	O
difficulty	O
of	O
setting	O
up	O
PCSX2	B-Application
but	O
called	O
it	O
a	O
"	O
masterpiece.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Sriram	O
Gurunathan	O
of	O
In.com	O
described	O
PCSX2	B-Application
as	O
"	O
arguably	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
emulator	O
around	O
"	O
and	O
named	O
it	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
site	O
's	O
top	O
five	O
emulators	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brandon	O
Widder	O
of	O
Digital	O
Trends	O
included	O
PCSX2	B-Application
in	O
his	O
Best	O
Emulators	O
article	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
John	O
Corpuz	O
of	O
Tom	O
's	O
Guide	O
mentioned	O
PCSX2	B-Application
in	O
his	O
Best	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Emulators	O
for	O
PCs	O
article	O
,	O
saying	O
,	O
"	O
When	O
it	O
comes	O
to	O
stable	O
,	O
playable	O
Playstation	B-Device
2	I-Device
emulation	O
,	O
PCSX2	B-Application
is	O
pretty	O
much	O
the	O
best	O
game	O
in	O
town	O
at	O
the	O
moment.	O
"	O
</s>
